Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming-Natural, Divine and Human (Theology and the Sciences) (Paperback)

~ Arthur Peacocke (Author)
Key Phrases: lawlike framework, communication with humanity, causal joint, Jesus the Christ, New Testament, Natural Human Being (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This second, expanded edition of Arthur Peacocke's seminal work now includes the author's Gifford Lectures, as well as a new part three, in which he deals roundly with the central corpus of Christian belief for a scientific age. "Distinctively theological commitments are being rethought in light of scientific apprehensions of nature."--Ted Peters, Zygon.

Product Details

• Paperback: 452 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers; Enl Sub edition (December 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800627598
• ISBN-13: 978-0800627591
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #201,409 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly Recommended, August 1, 2000

By	Frederick Polgardy (Algonquin, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

_Theology for a Scientific Age_ is easily one of the most rigorous, thorough, and wide-ranging attempts to engage historic Christian theology in light of recent advances in the sciences. As the subtitle suggests, the major thread which runs throughout the entire work is the transition from a static to a dynamic ontology -- substance vs. process, Being vs. Becoming. This fundamental philosophical shift has impacted every corner of theological thinking, and Peacocke takes great pains to elucidate the changes with rigor and detail.

Of particular note are the discussions regarding cognitive science and information theory. He suggests a model of top-down information input to describe God's activity in the physical universe -- not capriciously intervening and breaking the laws of nature, but respecting those laws and working within them to accomplish his purposes. The relationship between mind and brain is thoroughly explored, and applied by analogy to this model of divine action in the world. Even the thorny issue of the divinity of Christ is illuminated in a way that is deeply respectful of historic Christianity, while moving beyond the superstitions of popular piety. The discussion of St. John's logos as Meaning and Person is truly profound, deeply challenging to biblical literalists and scientific materialists alike.

Highly recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A theology that embraces science, November 12, 2007

By	David C. Garen (Portland, Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book to be very engaging and full of ideas that either confirmed many things I had been thinking for years or stretched me further along. I highly recommend it to those interested in an intellectually compelling development of a scientifically-informed theology. My only criticism of the book is that I found it a bit laborious to read, as Peacocke's writing style is, to me, overly wordy, and the language is somewhat stilted. Nevertheless, it is definitely a volume worth reading and thinking about.

Peacocke's basic premise is that theology, for it to remain alive and relevant, cannot ignore the knowledge generated by science and must find ways to embrace it and incorporate it into its concepts of God and its understanding of the meaning of the life of Jesus Christ. Peacocke's approach requires that the integrity of scientific knowledge be preserved in theology. He sees the orderliness of how the physical universe operates as a characteristic of God that is to be revered. This also, however, makes it necessary to be careful in understanding miracles and not to accept the breaking of normal physical laws naïvely or literally. He calls his approach "critical realism".

Peacocke accepts evolution as God's way of creating life and very meaningfully depicts the ongoing nature of this process as God's continuing interaction with creation. He calls this divine "becoming", as contrasted with God's nature or "being". He conceives God's interaction with the world as a top-down causation, but this does not interfere with the orderly functioning of physical processes or with human free will.

In light of this, the biblical story of the Garden of Eden and The Fall can no longer be regarded as literally true (which is not to denigrate its metaphorical meaningfulness). That is, most pertinently, there never was an original state of moral perfection from which humanity fell, that introduced sin into human character, and that initiated biological death. Peacocke rather conceptualizes what is typically called sin as a sense of alienation or being a misfit, and biological death is an integral part of the creative evolutionary process.

Without The Fall, atonement theories regarding the significance of the life of Jesus Christ that are based on the idea of redemptive sacrifice no longer can be supported. Instead, he embraces the theory of Abelard and expands on it -- that the life of Jesus was an act of love, Jesus is an embodiment of God, and Jesus is our model for lifestyle.

There are many more intriguing ideas throughout the book. As a scientist myself, I found Peacocke's approach to be both scientifically and intellectually honest as well as morally inspiring. His high regard for Jesus Christ as a model for our lives is a lesson for us all, whether one is a Christian or not.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond the Genesis vs. Geology dispute, March 14, 2006

By	W. Gillham (Albion, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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Genesis vs. Geology? Creationism vs. Darwinism? Religious ["spiritual'] people who accept Evolution do not have a dog in this fight. The ultimate encompassing Mystery beyond the reach of strict scientific tools seems to be using the chance and selection of evolution to progress to more desirable forms of being. [Rather be pig, paramecium, or person?] If you are interested is seeing how someone who rejects both dogmatic fundamentalisms--Biblical Literalism and Materialist metaphysics masquerading as pure science--can relate science and religion in what Ian Barbour calls creative dialogue and integration, this is a book for you.

Peacocke--trained scientist and theologian--shows the limitations of reductive scientism [scientific imperialism] and its inability to answer questions which arise at the limiting edges of legitimate scientific inquiry [e.g.: What was going on before the "Big Bang"? How do minds influence brains and bodies?] He suggests the clue to the nature of God's causal relation to the World is the mind-body relation in human persons. In both we have "top-down [rather than "bottom-up"] causation at work. More complex wholes exercise constraints upon simpler parts. He illuminates, but does not quite explain, what he calls the 'causal joint' between minds and bodies, and between God and the World. He finds panentheism helpful, but not altogether convincing. The fulfillment of human life is to participate with God in our sacramental universe [pp.342-45].